Russian justice keeps American journalist Evan Gershkovich in detention

June 22, 2023

A Moscow court on Thursday rejected the request for the release of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, confirming the extension of his pre-trial detention until August 30 on charges of espionage which he denies.

After a closed hearing, a judge at the Moscow City Court decided “not to consent” to Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against his imprisonment, according to an AFP journalist on the spot.

At the end of May, the Wall Street Journal reporter appealed the extension of his pre-trial detention.

Before the start of the hearing on Thursday, he appeared before the press in the glass cage reserved for inmates, in jeans and a black T-shirt.

“We were extremely disappointed by the rejection of his appeal,” US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy told reporters after the hearing.

She said three requests for consular visits to Evan Gershkovich in his prison had been denied by Russian authorities since a first visit granted in April.

“Despite everything, today in the courtroom, Evan continued to show remarkable strength and resilience in these very difficult circumstances,” the US diplomat said.

The journalist’s parents, Mikhail Gershkovich and Ella Milman, also present at the hearing, refrained from commenting to the press, as did the reporter’s lawyers.

Evan Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in Russia at the end of March while reporting from Yekaterinburg (Urals) and prosecuted for espionage.

The Kremlin says he was arrested in “flagrante delicto”, without providing evidence, the file being classified secret.

Evan Gershkovich, his employer the Wall Street Journal and the American authorities categorically reject these charges punishable by 20 years in prison.

“The charges against him are baseless, he is an innocent journalist,” the US ambassador to Russia said Thursday.

Evan Gershkovich, who previously worked for AFP in Moscow, is the first foreign journalist arrested in Russia for espionage since the fall of the Soviet Union. He is currently imprisoned in the Moscow prison of Lefortovo.